Woman diagnosed with UK's most common cancer shares symptoms she ignored

A woman battling the UK's most prevalent cancer has revealed the four symptoms she overlooked before her diagnosis. On average, a person is diagnosed with cancer every 90 seconds in the UK, with breast cancer being the most common type, accounting for approximately 15% of new cases in women between 2017 and 2019.

Contrary to common perception, men can also be affected by this condition – around 1% of breast cancers are diagnosed in men. Now, a woman living with stage four breast cancer has spoken about the symptoms she dismissed.

Kristi, who regularly posts updates on her breast cancer journey on TikTok, captioned her video: "If you have these symptoms, too, it does NOT mean that you also have breast cancer, but please talk to your physician and ADVOCATE for yourself! ! ! ! " Severe fatigue was one of the symptoms Kristi experienced prior to her diagnosis. Johns Hopkins Medicine states that "extreme fatigue that doesn't get better with rest" can be an early warning sign of not just breast cancer, but many types of cancer.

"Cancer uses your body's nutrients to grow and advance, so those nutrients are no longer replenishing your body. This 'nutrient theft' can make you feel extremely tired," the medical organisation explains. Weight loss despite constant sugar cravings was another symptom.

Stamford Health has noted that weight loss linked with cancer can stem from multiple factors. "Depending on the type of cancer and the organs affected, individuals may experience nausea or a lack of appetite, or have difficulty chewing or swallowing, which causes their food intake to drop," said the healthcare provider, reports Surrey Live.

Early research points to sugar cravings potentially being an early sign of cancer, while the National Institute of Health (NIH) also suggested, "There is evidence of an association between cancer and certain types of altered eating behaviours, including orthorexia, food cravings, and food addiction."

Easy bruising or bleeding is generally more prevalent among those with blood cancers. Leukaemia Care has reported that such symptoms led to a diagnosis of leukaemia in almost a quarter of cases.

For individuals like Kristi with stage 4 cancer, the disease has expanded to other body parts, leading to a unique set of symptoms for each person.

Kristi recounted enduring back pain that became progressively severe, a common symptom when breast cancer metastasises to the bones, causing discomfort in regions like the hip or back.

The NHS lists the most notable symptoms of breast cancer on its website:

• a lump, or swelling in your breast, chest or armpit
• a change in the skin of your breast, such as dimpling (may look like orange peel) or redness (may be harder to see on black or brown skin)
• a change in size or shape of 1 or both breasts
• nipple discharge (if you are not pregnant or breastfeeding), which may have blood in it
• a change in the shape or look of your nipple, such as it turning inwards (inverted nipple) or a rash on it (may look like eczema)
• pain in your breast or armpit which does not go away – breast pain that comes and goes is usually not a symptom of breast cancer.